Royal Insider Explains How Harry And Meghan 'Hurt' Queen Elizabeth In The Last Years Of Her Life
With Prince Harry's bombshell memoir hitting shelves early next year, all eyes are on the former senior royal and his wife, Meghan Markle, as they allegedly prepare to unleash yet more vitriol about the royal family. Alongside Harry's book, the celebrity couple also has a Netflix docuseries in the works that's due for release in December, per Page Six. However, rumors continue to swirl that they're regretting going in so hard on The Firm in both.
Britain, and indeed the world at large, has rallied behind Harry's family following the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II. As a result, royal experts claim the Sussexes are concerned about coming off too harshly in their upcoming projects. As one source told Vanity Fair, "Harry and Meghan are quite aware that if they do or say anything that might be deemed insensitive towards Harry's family, then they risk being cut off completely."
Moreover, "There's a sense among the family that they are already on thin ice and they need to step cautiously." Likewise, per Deadline, higher-ups at Netflix were reportedly "rattled" by the controversy surrounding Season 5 of "The Crown," which tackles one of the most tumultuous periods in the family's checkered history. Now, a royal expert claims the queen wasn't too happy with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex towards the end regardless.
The Sussexes reportedly ghosted the queen on several occasions
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, broke away from the royal family in January 2020, they relocated to the U.S., which made it difficult to see Harry's extended family — particularly given the strict COVID-19 restrictions. And yet, Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly upset they didn't make more of an effort for her sake. During a recent episode of the "To Di For Daily" podcast (via Express), royal expert Katie Nicholl explained, "I think it is important to stress that there were times where she [The Queen] felt quite let down by Harry and Meghan and quite disappointed by them."
Nicholl divulged, "She would always have this lovely weekend at the end of August, a sort of big sleepover for her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. She would always make a point of inviting Harry and Meghan and the last couple of summers, they did not go." The queen was reportedly "hurt" when the Sussexes didn't visit at Christmastime, either. The couple did make a point of staying on in Britain longer than they'd initially planned, in the wake of her death, to honor the official mourning period. They attended several official events.
It's worth noting that, following a report from The Sun back in July claiming Meghan and Harry had personally been invited to Balmoral by the queen, Page Six clarified it wasn't actually the case. Multiple insiders told the outlet no invite was extended, and any reports claiming as such were wholly inaccurate.
Queen Elizabeth desperately wanted to fix Harry's relationship with the royals
Although Prince Harry's memoir was reportedly never going to include anything defamatory about the queen, royal expert Omid Scobie still felt the need to reiterate earlier this year, during an interview on the "Royally Obsessed" podcast. Amid reports that the Duke of Sussex was planning a major takedown of his extended family in the book, Scobie clarified, "Harry really is going out of his way to make sure that there isn't material in there that can be seen as negative towards the queen or her reign in any way whatsoever" (via Page Six).
In fact, the "Finding Freedom" author claimed Harry was actually looking to "celebrate" his beloved grandmother's life. As Scobie argued, "I think as much as the press wants this to be a burn book and an attack on the institution, this is more just about his story." However, regardless of how flattering the memoir ultimately is to the queen's memory, it's clear that the feud between Harry and the rest of The Firm weighed heavily on her heart.
Royal historian Robert Hardman told People that the queen "adored Harry right to the end, and Harry adored her." He elaborated, "She was one of the conduits between Windsor and California, and it would have been one of her dearest wishes that [the family] patch things up." Sadly, it wasn't to be, but at least the duke was in the U.K. to grieve her death, if nothing else.